DJ Vadim ‎– U.S.S.R. The Art Of Listening

More sparse hip-hop from DJ Vadim on U.S.S.R THE ART OF LISTENING. Even "Till Suns In Your Eye" announces its own abstraction to a laidback wobble of drug and alcohol references. Yarah Bravo offers her own woozy vocals to "She Who is Tested" into a beat medley with a thick double bass, and a delicate conscious rap to "The Pacifist." Elsewhere the Gift of Gab puts in his pitter-patter lyrics to the test on "Combustible." The jazz and vocal textures of "Revelations Well Expounded" add a strong bit of contrast to the rappers elsewhere, which makes it an "The Harp Song" stand out all the more. Similarly, the African singing throughout "Too Fun Aiye" or the Asian string plucking on "The Correct Size" gives those tracks unique textures. And you can't go wrong with TTC and their smooth French lyrics breaking and entering on "L'art d'Ecouter." A mixed bag, certainly, but still worth some spins.

This volume of Vadim's USSR cycle is a bit disappointing. After the very impressive volume 'USSR Life from the other side', Vadim tries to capture an extended part of the musical spectrum in a hiphop record. This results in a somewhat incoherent album, however it surprises with a few surprisingly fresh guest appearances for example from TTC, Yara Brava and Demolition Man.